I’ve decided DCC is the way I’d like to go on my new layout. But this being all new to me I have a few questions.
Can I use rail joiners like DC or do I need to soder all the track together?
Can a standard Code Atlas turnout be used and if so is there special wiring to be done?
I remember a teacher once telling me “there are no dumb questions, just dumb people asking questions.”[;)]
Here’s a good DCC primer from Tony’s Train Exchange that should answer a number of questions for you - even ones you haven’t thought up yet. You can either read it online or download it onto your computer as a .pdf file.
Tom
Whether you are using DC or DCC you should solder the rail joiners to ensure good contact with adjacent rails.
Atlas switches can be used without any special wiring.
As with DC, rail joiners can be problematic because over time they can loosen, oxidize, etc. There are lots of opinions and options on how to avoid those eventual problems, but most agree that relying on rail joiners probably isn’t the best solution.
Yes they can, and DCC wiring in it’s most basic forms is no different than DC wiring. Therefore the basic tenets for DC wiring of turnouts still applies to DCC turnouts.
(I know I’ll get some flack on that last point, but let’s face it - a short is a short and an open circuit is an open circuit, no matter if it’s DC or DCC or AC. I’ve NEVER wired a turnout differently for DCC, than I would have wired the same turnout for DC).
I go with the philosophy of “every piece of track should be soldered to something” either another piece of track or a feeder wire. I found that advice on this helpful website.
I followed this advice and have not had one electrical issue on this layout that is now several years old.
You will also get good info on turnouts there.
Good luck
Brent[C):-)]
I have a large DCC layout, and I use rail joiners throughout. The only rails that I solder are the curves to avoid kinks.
There are no special wiring requirements for Atlas turnouts, but I add feeders to the ends of every rail on each turnout.
Rich
Yes. Or no. You can use joiners, and maybe should, but it depends on the nature of the function to which you put them as to whether or not you ‘need’ to use them. What I mean is that the DC/DCC part of your question is really a red herring…or irrelevant. The rails don’t really care, but your locos and rolling stock might benefit from the alignment that they offer. As for electrical continuity, they don’t work well for long, as I at long last must admit. For a while, a few years, I thought the nay-sayers were just old curmudgeons. I have now joined them. Don’t rely on joiners for electrical transmission. Solder them if you do.
Your teacher was right. The dumb part is in failing to ask, or in fearing to ask, and then failing to ask if you don’t know the answer, and it is important to know it.
I agree with Rich. If the joiners eventually fail to maintain electrical contact, you can then solder the connections (or add feeders, if you prefer).
Dante
Yes, you can in fact I would say you have to use rail joiners. The only rail joiners that I solder are those on flex track laid in a curve.
Yes, standard Atlas turnouts work fine. If you are using the Mark II then you CAN run a wire to the metal frog to power it but that has nothing to do with DCC. That is just basic wiring.
Rail joiners are primarily a mechanical device to keep the rails in line with each other. They happen to conduct electricity, and that is what makes things work. The question is: will they work forever?
If you are experimenting, just moving tracks around to see what fits, or are at a stage of construction where you like to move things around, then, just leave them be.
Once you are happy with what you have built and are ready to decorate the layout, you probably should solder them all in place. LIONS like solder. LIONS like solid connections.
Once soldered I paint the tracks: tracks above ground get brown paint on them to represent rust. Tracks in the subway get black paint on them to represent grease and grime. either way, paint is going to get under the rail joiners and cause bad electrical conductivity.
Next you will want to ballast your tracks, and if you are like most modelers, you will want to glue the ballast down, and then water and glue will get into the rail joiners and further degrade electrical conductivity. (LIONS do not glue ballast down, gravity really does work just fine, at least on my layout which uses no roadbeds.
LION then attaches feeders to the rails about every 6 to 9 feet. Him has 14 scale miles of tracks and no problems. Well, LION also has 48 wheel power pickup on each of his trains, but then LIONS are, well, different. But his trains do run on time.
I agree completely. I use Shinohara and with careful gaping I don’t have an issue.
As far as rail joiners are concerned, I solder every one of mine and then run feeders to every other 3’ section of track.
I solder all rail joiners, even at the turnouts. I used to leave turnouts unsoldered until I realized that most of my problems were coming from those unsoldered joiners,
Rail joiners keep the rail ends in mechanical alignment. How good they are at providing electrical continuity is a ??? - which degrades over time. If you are planning to keep your layout for a long time, they can’t be trusted.
For electrical feed, you can solder a feeder to each single piece of rail, you can solder rail joints or you can solder jumpers around uninsulated joints. In my case, I prefer jumpers. I have to leave my rails enough space to move when the temperature changes, and I consider having a feeder to every single piece of rail to be gross overkill.
As for dumb questions, those are the questions people didn’t ask that they should have. Ignorant people ask. Dumb people aren’t smart enough to ask.
Ignorance is curable - all it takes is a generous helping of appropriate, accurate information
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with electricals as dependable as I can make them)